ICES advice 2018

hke.27.3a46-8abd

Hake (Merluccius merluccius) in subareas 4, 6, and 7, and in divisions 3.a, 8.a–b, and 8.d, Northern stock (Greater North Sea, Celtic Seas, and the northern Bay of Biscay)

Published 29 June 2018


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ICES advice on fishing opportunities

ICES advises that when the MSY approach is applied, catches in 2019 should be no more than 142 240 tonnes.


Stock development over time

The spawning-stock biomass (SSB) has increased substantially since 2006 and is well above historical estimates. Fishing mortality (F) has decreased markedly after 2005 and has been below FMSY since 2012. The two most recent recruitment (R) estimates are above the average of the time-series.

Figure 1 .Summary of the stock assessment of hake in subareas 4, 6, and 7, and in divisions 3.a, 8.a–b, and 8.d, Northern stock. Complete discard estimates are available only since 2003. Recruitment and SSB plots show 95% confidence intervals (shaded area). Assumed recruitment values are unshaded.


Summary of the assessment


Assessment summary for hake in subareas 4, 6, and 7, and in divisions 3.a, 8.a–b, and 8.d, Northern stock. Weights are in tonnes. Highs and lows are 95% confidence intervals


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Year recruitment high_recruitment low_recruitment low_SSB SSB high_SSB catches landings discards low_F F high_F StockPublishNote Purpose Fage fishstock recruitment_age AssessmentYear units stockSizeDescription stockSizeUnits fishingPressureDescription fishingPressureUnits
1978 298362 356522 249690 66148 80488 94829 50551 50551 NA NA 0.50 NA Stock published Advice NA hke.27.3a46-8abd 0 2018 tonnes SSB tonnes F NA
1979 274926 332948 227015 89676 101357 113038 51096 51096 NA NA 0.54 NA Stock published Advice NA hke.27.3a46-8abd 0 2018 tonnes SSB tonnes F NA
1980 303736 362173 254726 92898 103838 114778 57265 57265 NA NA 0.64 NA Stock published Advice NA hke.27.3a46-8abd 0 2018 tonnes SSB tonnes F NA
1981 579898 658580 510616 79078 89265 99451 53918 53918 NA NA 0.64 NA Stock published Advice NA hke.27.3a46-8abd 0 2018 tonnes SSB tonnes F NA
1982 392556 458476 336114 63173 72684 82196 54994 54994 NA NA 0.67 NA Stock published Advice NA hke.27.3a46-8abd 0 2018 tonnes SSB tonnes F NA
1983 139840 175996 111112 61740 70355 78970 57507 57507 NA NA 0.62 NA Stock published Advice NA hke.27.3a46-8abd 0 2018 tonnes SSB tonnes F NA
1984 279464 325473 239959 75005 83045 91084 63286 63286 NA NA 0.66 NA Stock published Advice NA hke.27.3a46-8abd 0 2018 tonnes SSB tonnes F NA
1985 619933 693907 553843 71897 78908 85918 56099 56099 NA NA 0.82 NA Stock published Advice NA hke.27.3a46-8abd 0 2018 tonnes SSB tonnes F NA
1986 359882 403388 321068 52674 58963 65252 57092 57092 NA NA 0.91 NA Stock published Advice NA hke.27.3a46-8abd 0 2018 tonnes SSB tonnes F NA
1987 434200 482468 390763 38269 43524 48780 63369 63369 NA NA 0.98 NA Stock published Advice NA hke.27.3a46-8abd 0 2018 tonnes SSB tonnes F NA
1988 494257 545543 447792 41491 45994 50497 64825 64823 2 NA 1.00 NA Stock published Advice NA hke.27.3a46-8abd 0 2018 tonnes SSB tonnes F NA
1989 478272 524131 436425 41182 45086 48989 66546 66473 73 NA 1.07 NA Stock published Advice NA hke.27.3a46-8abd 0 2018 tonnes SSB tonnes F NA
1990 484780 529283 444019 39181 42352 45522 59954 59954 NA NA 1.02 NA Stock published Advice NA hke.27.3a46-8abd 0 2018 tonnes SSB tonnes F NA
1991 270044 297953 244750 38350 41351 44352 58129 58129 NA NA 0.96 NA Stock published Advice NA hke.27.3a46-8abd 0 2018 tonnes SSB tonnes F NA
1992 294630 324385 267604 36893 39836 42780 56617 56617 NA NA 1.00 NA Stock published Advice NA hke.27.3a46-8abd 0 2018 tonnes SSB tonnes F NA
1993 517317 549711 486832 36177 38743 41310 52144 52144 NA NA 1.05 NA Stock published Advice NA hke.27.3a46-8abd 0 2018 tonnes SSB tonnes F NA
1994 288462 309831 268567 28287 30489 32691 51615 51259 356 NA 1.06 NA Stock published Advice NA hke.27.3a46-8abd 0 2018 tonnes SSB tonnes F NA
1995 147553 160916 135299 27582 29596 31610 57621 57621 NA NA 1.12 NA Stock published Advice NA hke.27.3a46-8abd 0 2018 tonnes SSB tonnes F NA
1996 362975 386197 341149 32726 34790 36855 47210 47210 NA NA 0.97 NA Stock published Advice NA hke.27.3a46-8abd 0 2018 tonnes SSB tonnes F NA
1997 255130 277253 234770 28133 30089 32045 42465 42465 NA NA 1.06 NA Stock published Advice NA hke.27.3a46-8abd 0 2018 tonnes SSB tonnes F NA
1998 422379 452354 394389 22700 24356 26012 35060 35060 NA NA 0.98 NA Stock published Advice NA hke.27.3a46-8abd 0 2018 tonnes SSB tonnes F NA
1999 207423 225592 190718 25921 27703 29485 40163 39814 349 NA 0.97 NA Stock published Advice NA hke.27.3a46-8abd 0 2018 tonnes SSB tonnes F NA
2000 188288 203398 174300 28659 30600 32541 42109 42026 83 NA 0.91 NA Stock published Advice NA hke.27.3a46-8abd 0 2018 tonnes SSB tonnes F NA
2001 346704 369281 325507 34175 36341 38508 36675 36675 NA NA 0.75 NA Stock published Advice NA hke.27.3a46-8abd 0 2018 tonnes SSB tonnes F NA
2002 274312 293177 256661 34885 37273 39660 40107 40107 NA NA 0.81 NA Stock published Advice NA hke.27.3a46-8abd 0 2018 tonnes SSB tonnes F NA
2003 160600 173153 148957 35185 37656 40127 45272 43162 2110 NA 0.82 NA Stock published Advice NA hke.27.3a46-8abd 0 2018 tonnes SSB tonnes F NA
2004 340348 360546 321284 40191 42778 45364 48969 46417 2552 NA 0.83 NA Stock published Advice NA hke.27.3a46-8abd 0 2018 tonnes SSB tonnes F NA
2005 221565 237314 206861 38591 41195 43799 51226 46550 4676 NA 0.95 NA Stock published Advice NA hke.27.3a46-8abd 0 2018 tonnes SSB tonnes F NA
2006 302086 320024 285156 31204 33614 36023 43283 41467 1816 NA 0.84 NA Stock published Advice NA hke.27.3a46-8abd 0 2018 tonnes SSB tonnes F NA
2007 471269 499703 444453 36929 39797 42666 47219 45028 2191 NA 0.74 NA Stock published Advice NA hke.27.3a46-8abd 0 2018 tonnes SSB tonnes F NA
2008 765300 807080 725683 43214 46978 50743 50987 47739 3248 NA 0.60 NA Stock published Advice NA hke.27.3a46-8abd 0 2018 tonnes SSB tonnes F NA
2009 254872 278046 233630 65204 71072 76940 68689 58818 9871 NA 0.48 NA Stock published Advice NA hke.27.3a46-8abd 0 2018 tonnes SSB tonnes F NA
2010 270378 292668 249786 121027 131320 141613 82214 72799 9415 NA 0.36 NA Stock published Advice NA hke.27.3a46-8abd 0 2018 tonnes SSB tonnes F NA
2011 284226 310040 260563 198965 216114 233263 101315 87540 13775 NA 0.29 NA Stock published Advice NA hke.27.3a46-8abd 0 2018 tonnes SSB tonnes F NA
2012 540727 587750 497468 224485 247175 269865 97902 85677 12225 NA 0.24 NA Stock published Advice NA hke.27.3a46-8abd 0 2018 tonnes SSB tonnes F NA
2013 375538 416627 338502 225353 252407 279461 89390 77753 11637 NA 0.24 NA Stock published Advice NA hke.27.3a46-8abd 0 2018 tonnes SSB tonnes F NA
2014 217417 246976 191396 238518 271088 303658 96987 89940 7047 NA 0.23 NA Stock published Advice NA hke.27.3a46-8abd 0 2018 tonnes SSB tonnes F NA
2015 245139 284718 211062 272694 314983 357272 101066 93670 7396 NA 0.22 NA Stock published Advice NA hke.27.3a46-8abd 0 2018 tonnes SSB tonnes F NA
2016 593993 707487 498706 292792 346653 400514 119045 109106 9939 NA 0.23 NA Stock published Advice NA hke.27.3a46-8abd 0 2018 tonnes SSB tonnes F NA
2017 493394 645701 377011 261577 325230 388883 110287 104671 5616 NA 0.25 NA Stock published Advice NA hke.27.3a46-8abd 0 2018 tonnes SSB tonnes F NA
2018 303550 NA NA 229915 306516 383117 NA NA NA NA NA NA Stock published Advice NA hke.27.3a46-8abd 0 2018 tonnes SSB tonnes F NA


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Stock and explotation status


Table 1 State of the stock and fishery relative to reference points for hake in subareas 4, 6, and 7, and in divisions 3.a, 8.a–b, and 8.d, Northern stock.


Catch scenarios


Table 2 Assumptions made for the interim year and in the forecast for hake in subareas 4, 6, and 7, and in divisions 3.a, 8.a–b, and 8.d, Northern stock. All weights are in tonnes.
Variable Value Source
F(2018) 0.23 Mean F2015–2017
R (2018 - 2019) 303550.00 GM 1990–2015 (in thousands)
SSB (2019) 346616.00
Total catch (2018) 103238.00 Forecast catch from the assessment model (based on F2018 = mean F2015 – 2017) plus additional discards*
Unwanted** catch (2018) 8426.00 Based on average discards rate during 2015–2017
Wanted** catch (2018) 94812.00 Based on average landings rate during 2015–2017

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* Additional discards are the discards that were not included in the assessment, amounting to approximately 2.8% of the total catch.

** “Wanted” and “unwanted” catch are used to describe fish that would be landed and discarded in the absence of the EU landing obligation.


Table 3 Annual catch scenarios for hake in subareas 4, 6, and 7, and in divisions 3.a, 8.a–b, and 8.d, Northern stock. All weights are in tonnes. Note: The % change in TAC is not computed because the stock area does not correspond to the area for the TAC.

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Total.catch..2019. Wanted.catch..2019. Unwanted.catch..2019. Ftotal..2019. Fwanted..2019. Funwanted..2019. SSB..2020. X..SSB.change
ICES advice basis
MSY approach: FMSY 142240 128236 14004 0.28 0.230 0.052 365492 5.5
Other scenarios
FMSY lower 96792 87371 9422 0.18 0.147 0.033 408019 17.7
FMSY upper 208200 187317 20883 0.45 0.370 0.083 303739 -12.4
F = 0 0 0 0 0.00 0.000 0.000 498590 44.0
Fpa 262175 235410 26765 0.62 0.510 0.115 253142 -27.0
Flim 324439 290502 33937 0.87 0.710 0.161 194612 -44.0
SSB (2020) = Blim 491220 433027 58193 2.80 2.300 0.520 32039 -91.0
SSB (2020) = Bpa 479239 423457 55782 2.40 1.950 0.440 44977 -87.0
SSB (2020) = MSY Btrigger 479239 423457 55782 2.40 1.950 0.440 44977 -87.0

* “Wanted” and “unwanted” catch are used to describe fish that would be landed and discarded in the absence of the EU landing obligation.

** SSB 2020 relative to SSB 2019.

*** Total catch 2019 relative to the catch advice for 2018 (115 335 tonnes).

^ Unwanted catch includes forecast unwanted catch (discards included in the assessment) and additional unwanted catch (the discards that were not included in the assessment, amounting to approximately 2.8% of the total catch).

^^ Catch option corresponds to F2018 = 0.25.



The catch for 2019 corresponding to the MSY framework is 23% higher than the advice given for 2018. The increase is mainly a consequence of the increase in SSB in 2019 as a result of strong incoming year classes.



Catch scenarios plot

The following plot resumes Fishing mortality scenarios (see Table 3) and the related estimates of Catch and next years’ Spawning Stock Biomass. Vertical and horizontal dashed lines show the available reference points (see also Reference Points section). In the hover text appearing in each point is indicated the value in tonnes (of Cath or of SSB) and the scenario represented. At the same time, in the horizontal axis will show up the corresponding F value.

This plot is produced with plotly. Among available features, it can be downloaded as .png and it is possible to zoom in and out.

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Basis of the advice


Table 4 The basis of the advice for hake in subareas 4, 6, and 7, and in divisions 3.a, 8.a–b, and 8.d, Northern stock.
Advice basis MSY approach.
Management plan The current recovery plan (EU, 2004) is based on precautionary reference points that are no longer appropriate. ICES has not evaluated this plan. The European Commission has proposed a multiannual management plan (MAP) for the Western Waters, which is not yet finalized (EU, 2018).



Quality of the assessment


The model confidence intervals underestimate uncertainty as they are narrower than interannual changes in estimates between consecutive assessments.

The historical FR-EVHOE-WIBTS-Q4 survey was revised and produced some minor changes in the perception of the stock. The FR-EVHOE-WIBTS-Q4 index value for 2017 was not available. However, the IE-IGFS-WIBTS-Q4 survey and the discards also provide information on recruitment. Both indices are consistent in the historical period, hence the recruitment estimate from last year is considered reliable.

Not all discards are included in the analytical assessment, but they are included in the final advice catch estimates. They represent approximately 2%–5% of the total stock catches. Discards have decreased substantially this year.

Given the expansion of the stock into northern areas (ICES, 2017a), biological sampling and discard quantification may be limited.

Owing to a lack of French market sampling of length in Q1 and Q2 of 2017 (biological and onboard sampling was unaffected), for some sampling strata length data were supplemented using data from previous years, which is considered to have limited impact (ICES, 2018).

There has been a tendency for the assessment to underestimate SSB and overestimate F in past years. However, estimates of SSB in the current assessment are close to those estimated in 2017.


Figure 2 Historical assessment results for hake in subareas 4, 6, and 7, and in divisions 3.a, 8.a–b, and 8.d, Northern stock.


Issues relevant for the advice

Discarding of juvenile hake (undersized and above minimum size) can be substantial in some areas and fleets. In the most recent period, discarding of large individuals increased because of quota restrictions in certain fleets. In 2017, observed discards decreased.

Some fleets fishing this stock have been under the EU landing obligation since 2016.


Reference Points


Table 5 Reference points, values, and their technical basis for hake in subareas 4, 6, and 7, and in divisions 3.a, 8.a–b, and 8.d, Northern stock.



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Framework Reference.point Value Technical.basis Source
MSY approach MSY Btrigger 45000 Bpa ICES (2016a)
FMSY 0.28 Stochastic simulations on a segmented regression stock–recruit ICES (2016a)
Precautionary approach Blim 32000 A low biomass which was followed by a quick recovery. ICES (2016b)
Bpa 45000 1.4 × Blim ICES (2016b)
Flim 0.87 Fishing mortality resulting in a 5% probability of SSB falling below Blim. ICES(2016b)
Fpa 0.62 Flim/1.4 ICES(2016b)
FMGT No defined
SSBMGT No defined
MAP MSY Btrigger 45000 MSY Btrigger
MAP Blim 32000 Blim
MAP FMSY 0.28 FMSY
MAP range Flower 0.18 Consistent with ranges resulting in no more than 5% reduction in long-term yield compared with MSY (ICES, 2016a)
MAP range Fupper 0.45 Consistent with ranges resulting in no more than 5% reduction

Basis of the assessment


Table 6 Basis of the assessment and advice for hake in subareas 4, 6, and 7, and in divisions 3.a, 8.a–b, and 8.d, Northern stock.
ICES stock data category 1 (ICES, 2016c).
Assessment type Length-based model (SS3; ICES, 2018) that uses landings and some discards. Additional discards are then included to calculate a catch forecast
Input data Commercial landings; four survey indices (FR-EVHOE-WIBTS-Q4, SP-PORC-WIBTS-Q3, IE-IGFS-WIBTS-Q4, and RESSGASC); maturity data: constant maturity (Martin, 1991); natural mortality: constant value of 0.4.
Discards and bycatch Data series from most fleets are available; 75% of the observed discards are included in the assessment (ICES, 2017b, 2018). The discards not included in the assessment are used to top-up the catch advice.
Indicators None.
Other information Last benchmarked in 2014 WKSOUTH (ICES, 2014).
Working group Working Group for the Bay of Biscay and the Iberian Waters Ecoregion (WGBIE)

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Information from stakeholders

There is no information available


History of the advice, catch, and management


Table 7 ICES advice and catch for hake in subareas 4, 6, and 7, and in divisions 3.a, 8.a–b, and 8.d, Northern stock. All weights are in tonnes.


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Year ICES.advice Predicted.catch.corresponding.to.advice Predicted.landings.corresponding.to.advice Agreed.TAC. ICES.landings Discards ICES.catch
1987 Precautionary TAC; juvenile protection 63500 63369 NA
1988 Precautionary TAC; juvenile protection 54000 66200 64823 ** NA
1989 Precautionary TAC; juvenile protection 54000 59700 66473 ** NA
1990 Precautionary TAC; juvenile protection 59000 65100 59954 NA
1991 Precautionary TAC; juvenile protection 59000 67000 58129 NA
1992 If required, precautionary TAC 61500 69000 56617 NA
1993 Enforce juvenile protection legislation
71500 52144 NA
1994 F significantly reduced
60000 51259 ** NA
1995 30% reduction in F 31000 55100 57621 NA
1996 30% reduction in F 39000 51100 47210 NA
1997 20% reduction in F 54000 60100 42465 NA
1998 20% reduction in F 45000 59100 35060 NA
1999 Reduce F below Fpa
55100 39814 ** NA
2000 50% reduction in F
42100 42026 ** NA
2001 Lowest possible catch, recovery plan
22600 36675 NA
2002 Lowest possible catch / recovery plan
27000 40105 NA
2003 Lowest possible catch / recovery plan
30000 43162 1393 44555
2004 70% reduction in F or recovery plan
39100 46416 2614 49029
2005 F = 0.19 33000 42600 46550 4583 51133
2006 F = 0.25 44000 43900 41469 1222 42691
2007 Recovery plan limits 50500 52700 45093 2165 47258
2008 Recovery plan limits 54000 54000 47822 3368 51190
2009 F = 0.25 = Fpa 51500 51500 58781 11033 69814
2010 F = 0.25 = Fpa 55200 55105 72760 12118 84878
2011 See scenarios 50600 55105 87540 13903 101443
2012 MSY transition 51900 55105 85677 14870 100547
2013 MSY transition 45400 69440 77708 15400 93108
2014 MSY approach 81846 81846 89928 9800 99728
2015 MSY approach 78457 90849 95023 10900 105923
2016 MSY approach ? 109592 ? 96651 108764 107530 11114 118644
2017 MSY approach ? 123777 119765 104670 7100 111770
2018 MSY approach ? 115335 111785 NA NA
2019 MSY approach ? 142240 NA NA NA
* Sum of area TACs, corresponding to northern stock plus Division 2.a (EC zone only).

** Partial discard estimates are available and used in the assessment. For remaining years for which no values are presented, some estimates are available but not considered valid and thus not used in the assessment.



History of the catch and landings


Table 8 Catch distribution by fleet in 2017 as estimated by ICES for hake in subareas 4, 6, and 7, and in divisions 3.a, 8.a–b, and 8.d, Northern stock. All weights are in tonnes.
Catch Landings Discards
NA 7% unspecified gear | 34% longline | 24% gillnet | 35% trawl NA
111770 104670 7100


Table 9 History of commercial catch and landings of hake in subareas 4, 6, and 7, and in divisions 3.a, 8.a–b, and 8.d, Northern stock. Both the official and ICES estimated values are presented by area for each country participating in the fishery. All weights are in tonnes.


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Year Landings. X X.1 X.2 X.3 X.4 X.5 Discards.. X.6 X.7 X.8 X.9 X.10 Total.catches…
3 4 6 7 8abd Unn. Total 3 4 6 7 8abd Total NA
1961 NA NA
95600 95600 NA NA NA NA
95600
1962 NA NA
86300 86300 NA NA NA NA
86300
1963 NA NA
86200 86200 NA NA NA NA
86200
1964 NA NA
76800 76800 NA NA NA NA
76800
1965 NA NA
64700 64700 NA NA NA NA
64700
1966 NA NA
60900 60900 NA NA NA NA
60900
1967 NA NA
62100 62100 NA NA NA NA
62100
1968 NA NA
62000 62000 NA NA NA NA
62000
1969 NA NA
54900 54900 NA NA NA NA
54900
1970 NA NA
64900 64900 NA NA NA NA
64900
1971 8500 NA 19400 23400 0 51300 NA NA NA NA
51300
1972 9400 NA 14900 41200 0 65500 NA NA NA NA
65500
1973 9500 NA 31200 37600 0 78300 NA NA NA NA
78300
1974 9700 NA 28900 34500 0 73100 NA NA NA NA
73100
1975 11000 NA 29200 32500 0 72700 NA NA NA NA
72700
1976 12900 NA 26700 28500 0 68100 NA NA NA NA
68100
1977 8500 NA 21000 24700 0 54200 NA NA NA NA
54200
1978 8000 NA 20300 24500 -2249 50551 NA NA NA NA
50551
1979 8700 NA 17600 27200 -2404 51096 NA NA NA NA
51096
1980 9700 NA 22000 28400 -2835 57265 NA NA NA NA
57265
1981 8800 NA 25600 22300 -2782 53918 NA NA NA NA
53918
1982 5900 NA 25200 26200 -2306 54994 NA NA NA NA
54994
1983 6200 NA 26300 27100 -2093 57507 NA NA NA NA
57507
1984 9500 NA 33000 22900 -2114 63286 NA NA NA NA
63286
1985 9224 NA 27459 21044 -1628 56099 NA NA NA NA
56099
1986 7320 NA 27408 23903 -1539 57092 NA NA NA NA
57092
1987 7800 NA 32900 24700 -2031 63369 NA NA NA NA
63369
1988 8800 NA 30900 26600 -1477 64823 NA NA NA NA
64823
1989 7375 NA 26938 31957 203 66473 NA NA NA NA
66473
1990 6680 NA 23011 34424 -4161 59954 NA NA NA NA
59954
1991 8328 NA 21546 31635 -3380 58129 NA NA NA NA
58129
1992 8561 NA 22475 23465 2116 56617 NA NA NA NA
56617
1993 8484 NA 20465 19849 3346 52144 NA NA NA NA
52144
1994 5421 NA 21080 24727 31 51259 NA NA NA NA
51259
1995 5335 NA 24056 28144 86 57621 NA NA NA NA
57621
1996 4445 NA 24738 18036 -9 47210 NA NA NA NA
47210
1997 3312 NA 18949 20339 -135 42465 NA NA NA NA
42465
1998 3208 NA 18705 13147 0 35060 NA NA NA NA
35060
1999 4256 NA 23955 11604 -1 39814 NA NA NA NA
39814
2000 4033 NA 25991 11998 4 42026 NA NA NA NA
42026
2001 4367 NA 23065 9244 0 36675 NA NA NA NA
36675
2002 2944 NA 21226 15935 0 40105 NA NA NA NA
40105
2003# 3284 NA 25438 14440 0 43162 NA NA NA NA 1393 44555
2004# 4438 NA 27483 14494 0 46416 NA NA NA NA 2614 49029
2005# 5461 NA 26623 14467 0 46550 NA NA NA NA 4583 51133
2006# 6127 NA 24709 10633 0 41469 NA NA NA NA 1222 42691
2007# 7017 NA 27456 10620 0 45093 NA NA NA NA 2165 47258
2008# 10654 NA 22834 14334 0 47822 NA NA NA NA 3368 51190
2009# 13057 NA 25300 20424 0 58781 NA NA NA NA 11033 69814
2010# 14187 NA 33500 25073 0 72760 NA NA NA NA 12118 84878
2011# 18789 NA 18574 16604 32000^ 87540 NA NA NA NA 13903 101443
2012# 22415 NA 22166 16716 19300^ 85677 NA NA NA NA 14870 100547
2013# 292 10684 5232 28500 19900 13100^ 77708 313 2942 1545 6583 4059 15400 93108
2014# 348 12077 11415 40536 25552 0^ 89928 287 3105 951 4021 1458 9800 99728
2015# 447 14618 7065 44396 28497 0^ 95023 93 3444 71 4208 3096 10900 105923
2016# 695 19603 11365 49377 26490 0 107530 142 4189 344 2281 4150 11114 118644
2017# 775 19690 9614 45737 28853 0 104670 148 1777 314 1168 3692 7100 111770
* Spanish data for 1961–1972 are not revised; data for Subarea 8 for 1973–1978 include data for divisions 8.a,b only. Data for 1979–1981 are revised based on French surveillance data. Divisions 3.a and 4.b,c are included in the column “3.a, 4, and 6” only after 1976. There are some unallocated landings ( moreover for the period 1961–1970).

** Discard estimates from observer programmes. In years marked with # partial discard estimates are available and used in the assessment. For the remaining years where no values are presented, some estimates are available but are not considered valid and thus not used in the assessment. In the years with data only Spanish discards, and discards from French Nephrops trawlers are included.

*** The working group used total catches from 1978.

^ Unallocated landings for the years 2011–2014 were revised in 2015.


Sources and references


  • EU. 2018. Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL establishing a multiannual plan for fish stocks in the Western Waters and adjacent waters, and for fisheries exploiting those stocks, amending Regulation (EU) 2016/1139 establishing a multiannual plan for the Baltic Sea, and repealing Regulations (EC) No 811/2004, (EC) No 2166/2005, (EC) No 388/2006, (EC) 509/2007 and (EC) 1300/2008. COM/2018/0149 final. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52018PC0149&from=EN
  • EU. 2004. COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No. 811/2004 of 21.4.2004 establishing measures for the recovery of the Northern hake stock. Official Journal of the European Union, L 150/1. http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2004:150:0001:0011:EN:PDF.
  • ICES. 2014. Report of the Benchmark Workshop on Southern Megrim and Hake (WKSOUTH), 3–7 February 2014, Copenhagen, Denmark. ICES CM 2014/ACOM:40. 236 pp.
  • ICES. 2016a. EU request to ICES to provide FMSY ranges for selected stocks in ICES subareas 5 to 10. In Report of the ICES Advisory Committee, 2016. ICES Advice 2016, Book 5, Section 5.4.1.
  • ICES. 2016b. Report of the Workshop to consider FMSY ranges for stocks in ICES categories 1 and 2 in Western Waters (WKMSYREF4), 13–16 October 2015, Brest, France. ICES CM 2015/ACOM:58. 183 pp.
  • ICES. 2016c. Advice basis. In Report of the ICES Advisory Committee, 2016. ICES Advice 2016, Book 1, Section 1.2.
  • ICES. 2017a. Report of the Working Group on Mixed-Fisheries Advice (WGMIXFISH-ADVICE), 22–26 May 2017, ICES Headquarters, Copenhagen, Denmark. ICES CM 2017/ACOM:18. In preparation.
  • ICES. 2017b. Report of the Working Group for the Bay of Biscay and Iberian waters Ecoregion (WGBIE). 4-11 May 2017. Cadiz, Spain. ICES CM 2017/ACOM:12. 534 pp.
  • ICES. 2018. Report of the Working Group for the Bay of Biscay and the Iberian Waters Ecoregion (WGBIE), 3 –10 May 2018, ICES HQ, Copenhagen, Denmark. ICES CM 2018/ACOM:12. 642 pp.
  • Martin, I. 1991. A preliminary analysis of some biological aspects of hake (Merluccius merluccius L. 1758) in the Bay of Biscay. ICES CM 1991/G:54. 31 pp.